Porn vs. Erotica seems to be a recurring topic at the O&C
offices this month. First Jordan & Samantha were asked to explain the
difference during a radio interview on KBPI and then I was given the fun
assignment of writing a review of Cinema Erotique, a European based erotic film
site. I was skeptical to say the least.
Typically sexual cinematography is either A. Pornographic B. Soft Porn or C.
Ridiculous. I’ve maintained until
recently that the only actual “erotic cinema” was the movie 9 ½ Weeks – a 1986 mainstream film that
also happens to be extremely sexy.
Cinema Erotique proved me wrong.
Film producer Cherry Chapman, whose previous experience was
in the mainstream film and TV industry, says of her site “We started Cinema Erotique as we thought Porn was so un-sexy. I just don't get it. What is so
sexy about just watching people fuck?
And yet just a smile or a girl dancing can be so erotic. It is in the
head, the imagination and this can be created with a bit of intelligence and
creativity. We want to use all the resources at our disposal to create the most
erotic films possible. Ideas, beautiful women and men, sets, lighting and good
sound...”
And this is exactly what she and her web designer have
accomplished.
The first thing that struck me about Cinema Erotique is the
very sleek site design. It doesn’t use any of the hard-sell approach of porn
sites. It has beautiful photographs of the actresses and actors, their profiles, and appealing trailers.
Especially enjoyable is the clever idea of each model having
a striptease “teaser” clip to whet the appetite. The striptease shorts showcase the different
personalities of each girl. I particularly enjoyed the “Alicia Blue” tease
which was shot in triplicate – with each image of her body dancing seconds
behind the other one. It was very unconventional and fun.
After whetting my appetite, I watched a film titled
“Drugged” and was quite impressed with the professional cinematography. The lighting of the opening scene enhanced
the soft texture of the starlette’s gorgeous blonde hair and the fullness of
her glistening lips. It was immediately
evident that this wasn’t the work of an amateur filmmaker. Attention was paid to every detail of the
production.
Although overtly sexual, the film followed a creative
storyline. The blonde (Vanessa) is
drugged by brunette (Giselle) and then she is taken advantage of during her
vulnerable state. The scenes are split between Giselle molesting Vanessa and
then cutting to the altered dream state of Vanessa as she descends into a world of
white faced mime’s molesting her with gloved hands. The dream
sequences are accompanied by a jarring, but intriguing audio presentation. This
is not your typical “bow chica wow wow” music of a classic sex film.
When Vanessa figures out what happened the night before she
in turn drugs Giselle the next day, then drags her into a dungeon and ties her
up. Vanessa wakes Giselle by pouring a glass of cold water all over her naked
skin, and then proceeds to punish her with a crop. Super sexy!
There is no unnecessary dialogue to set up the scenes or carry
them out; this greatly enhances the quality of the film. Often dialogue during sex scenes renders the
film cheesy and laughable. Instead the
filmmaker focuses on the visual play accompanied by breathing, gasps and the well-produced
music of Dick Power.
In a film titled “Mr Big,” a man sits in the shadows and
smokes a cigar while ordering two very sexy women to strip for him. Again no dialogue, his orders are shown in
gestures and their reactions are shown in body language and expression. The girls' emotions are portrayed through
facial expressions: embarrassment, shyness, excitement, power. After enjoying a lengthy striptease by both women,
Mr. Big then orders them to get on all fours, fully nude, and he spanks them
soundly. So hot!
Chapman’s taste for controversial topics like slavery,
“rape”, bondage, sacrilige and other oft shunned concepts give these films an extra
alluring quality.
The film “Deep End” is an erotic love story. It includes a
bit more dialogue and actual penetration (hooray!) Both actors have great bodies, and the star
Steve Hooper has a gorgeous cock. The thing I adore about this film is Steve
and Louise quite obviously really, really enjoy the sex with each other. The climaxes in this film do not culminate
in “money shots” but rather sensual orgasms that more often mirror those which
women find most satisfying.
Cherry Chapman is just beginning her quest. She says, “Our vision is to create more
imaginative erotic films, we just made a film based on a Guy de Maupassant
short story. It’s another a dream-like film filled with erotic images and
music. We hope these films will be something unique; too uncensored to be
conventional cinema yet not on the same planet as Porn.
“We hope to create a space for the uncensored erotic.”
Originally Published July 2008